Oil and acid feeder.



iCATION FILED JULY 21,1915.

A. CAMPBELL.

olL AND ACID FEEDER. APPL H .uw u T i n@ mf@ A. CMVTPBELL.

ou ANU Amm mm.

APPLICATION FXLED )LILY 21,195. v al @TQ l Batam-ed, July 11, 19H3.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2 WITNESSES:

A Zber Cam/297055! A. CMPBELL.

OIL AND ACID FEEDER.

APPLICATION men :uw 2 1, 1915.

4, SHEETS-SHEET 3.

fll lll I l l I lx LN'VENTH. A Zber Ca mjobeZZ- W'ITJVESSES:

A. CAMPBELL.

OIL AND ACID FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED luLY 21. 1915.

Patented l1, 1916.

4 SHE 1- lHEET 4.

LN' V'ENTOR.

Alberi Cam/Ubel!- www."

W'TNESSES ,ALBERT CAMPBELL, OF ANACONDA, MONTANA. i

OIL AND ACID nenni-:1a.

mentar.,

Speccatiors Patent. Pajggtd Ugly 1ML, 19j@ Application tiled July 21, 1915. Serial No. 41,209. I

lFeeders, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof. v y

My invention has relation to improvements in oil and acid feeders to fiotation concentrators; and it consists in the novel features of construction more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claim.

As well understood inthe art, what 1s known as the flotation process of. ore coneentration contemplates the employment of a suitable frothing agent which is mixed with the ore-pulp, and which upon proper agitation and aeration with the pulp pro! duces a froth which accumulates on the surface of the pulp, the ore particles clinging to said froth. Upon subsequent removal of the froth from the resulting gangue or tailings, the mineral valuesv with which the i froth ischarged maybe readilyrecovered.

Thepresent invention is directed to apparatus which will feed such frothing agent (usually oil or acid, or oil and acid as well understood in this art) to the pulp in measured quantities, the object sought being to provide an apparatus in which this feed shall be constant and uniform irrespective ofthe quantity of said agent in the container o r tank from which the same is fed to the ore stream.

A further objectis to provide a feeder the speed of which maybe readily adjusted and maintained under perfect control; one

which is simple and light in construction,

easy to operate; and one possessing further and other advantages better apparent from a detailed description of the invention in connection with the. accompanyingl drawings in which'- Figure l represents aside l. .elevation ofV the apparatus with the tank or container in section; Fig. 2 is an end elevation with parts in section; Fig` porting timbers omitted; Fig. 4 is a middle longitudinal sectional detail through the threaded end of the disk-shaft and through .55 the friction wheel and adjusting wheel CAMPBELL, a

3 is a top plan with sup therefor; Fig, 5 is an end elevation of the parts shownm Fig. ,4, with parts broken away; Fig. 6 is an end View of the hub porthe disk-shaft.

Referringto the drawings, 1 represents a preferably steel tank or container with a `lead lining 2 .for holding the frothing agent (oil or acid, or both, depending` on the character of agent employed) to'be fed'to theore stream or pulp. Secured at one end of a bronze shaft 3 and adapted to rotate in the tank aforesaid, is a member or bronze disk 4, the direction of rotation thereof being indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. ,Disposed on the front face of said disk adjacent the periphery thereof are a series .of lead buckets or dippers 5 (-of equal con tents), the same being secured in place by bronze taper-pins 6, the depth of submergence of the buckets in the liquid in the tank depending of course on the depth of the liquid which may be anywhere .between a full tank and a minimum level represented by the dotted-line in Fig. 1. The face of thev disk from which the buckets project is disposed in close proximity to the adjacent vertical wall of the upper terminal of a bent lead launder 7 of a shape substantially as shown, the bottom of the launder .being suitably inclined so as to readily conduct away the liquid, the latter discharging .into the lead pipe 8 on the outside of the tank, said pipe in turn conveying the liquid (or frothing agent) to a suitable point where it mingles with the ore stream or rpulp designed for treatment in any .approved formof flotation concentrating machine (not shown). vThe launder 7 is bent laterally as shown (Fig. 3) the middle section or portion a being inclined to the terminal parallel portionsb, c, on either side of it, this arrangement permitting the buckets or dippers to revolve around the upper section b, as well `as the middle section a, and clear the lower section c, (farthest/removed from the disk 4), as clearly apparent from the drawings. 'The Alaunder is suitably supported at the 05 taken through the vinner sliding bearing of Vat `is. the main drive-shaft 10 to which rotation is imparted from any suitable motor (not shown) said shaft 10 carrying a spur pinion 11 which meshes with a spur gear 124 on av parallel counter-shaft 13, the latter terminating at its inner end in a friction disk 14 whose hub portion m is feathered to the shaft to allow for longitudinal adjustment of the disk thereon. The outer end of the hub m is closed by a cap or plate 15 in which is mounted an adjusting screw 16 bearing against the end of the shaftj By proper manipulation of the screw the hub fm, (and hence the disk 14) may be adjusted to different positions longitudinally along the shaft, the purpose of the adjustment presently appearing.

Engaging the outer face of the disk 14 is a friction wheel 17 which is mounted on .the outer terminal screw-threaded portion t 4of the disk-shaft 3, the hub 'n of said wheel being provided with a feather key 18 which is free to slide in the featherway 'd formed in the threaded portion .of the disk-shaft, this arrangement permitting the wheel to rotate with the shaft and at the same time Aallowing for longitudinal adjustment there- `tion of the ring operating freely in an annular groove u behind the adjacent terminal flange or collar w of the hub a, it being obvious that the ring 20 must be made of two or more sections to permit the insertion thereof into the groove u aforesaid. After the ring sections are properly placed they are secured in position by the screws s to which access is had through Ithe spaces between the spokes of the wheel 1 7. It will be seen from the foregoing that rotation of the adjusting wheel 19 (which operates as a nut along the threaded section t) will cause the same to be advanced along the disk-shaft 3, and being coupled to the friction-wheel 17, it will move the latter along said shaft (without however turning the wheel). These longitudinal adjustments of the friction-wheel on its shaft 3 will cause its periphery to Contact with the friction disk 14 at points of varying radial distance from the rotation axis of the disk, whereby the speed of rotation of the friction-wheel and of the disk shaft 3 may be varied at will (Fig. 3). The speed of the shaft 3 (and of the buckets 5) may be controlled by the operator while the machine is running on account of the slow rotation speed imparted to said shaft.

Once the friction-wheel 17 is properly adjusted, it is necessary to lock the adjusting wheel-19 thereto'to prevent accidental rotation of the wheel 19 along the shaft. f

To accomplish this, I provide the hub c of the adjusting wheel with a transverse passage or opening p terminating in a counterbore or enlargement p whose outer terminal is covered by a plate 21. Operating loosely through the plate 21 is a steln 22 terminating in a head 22 which operates freely in the passage p, the base ofthe head being provided with a collar 23 between which and the plate 21, and encircling the stem 22 is confined a coiled expansion spring 24 whose natural tendency is to force the head 22 inward. Leading from the passage p and opening through the shoulder z' formed at the base of the counterbore p is a slot f in which operates a pin 25 on the head 22. As long as the pin 25 remains in the slot the spring 24 is free to force the head 22 against the flange or collar w of the hub n of the friction wheel 17. The collar fw of ries of marginal semi-circular (or equivalent) notches y," and when the pin 25 occupies the slot f it is apparent that if-the adjusting wheel 19 be given a sufficient turn to bring the head 22 opposite one of the notches y, said head will automatically enter said notch under the driving action of the spring 24, and thus lock the adjusting wheel to the friction wheel. The two wheels thus locked will rotate as a unit about the axis of the shaft 3 during the operation of the .machine for any given adjustment of the friction wheel. Should it-be desired to change the position of the friction wheel (on the shaft 3) the operator pulls on the stem 22 until he withdraws, the head 22 out of its notch, and the pin 25 out of the slot f, when, by giving the stem a slight turn, the pin 25 may be brought opposite the shoulder z' and allowed to rest thereonl This will prevent a return of the head 22 against the collar w, leaving the adjusting wheel free to be turned on its shaft 3 and thus change the position of the .friction whcell'. Once' the friction wheel is shifted to its new position, the adjusting wheel is again locked thereto by restoring the pin 25 to its slot f, when the spring 24 automatically effects a ree'ngagement of the head 22 with one of the notches y designed to receive it.

The' disk-shaft 3 is mounted in sliding bearings B, B, respectively, which are susceptible of slight adjustment to and from the friction-disk 14. This adjustment is effected by providing the bearings with clonleo gated slots s through which pass the securingl bolts 26. 1n the present embodiment of my invention, the bearing B is provided with a stem 27 traversing al bracket or abutment 28 between which and the bearing, and encircling the stem is interposed an expansion spring 29. rEhe tension of the spring determines the pressure with which the friction wheel 17 shall bear against the face of the friction disk 14, this pressure being adjusted to suit conditions. 1n the present instance,vthe tension of the spring, and hence the friction between the members 14, 17, is regulated by the screw 16 which, accord-4 ing to the direction the same is turned, either 17 thereby compressing', and imposing greater tension on, the spring 29, or allows the disk 14 to recede from the wheel 17, the v spring under the. circumstances expanding. In this way the frictional engagement between the members 14, 17, may be carefully regulated to suit conditions.

The operation of the feederv may be de- "scribed als follows It was stated above that one of the objects sought is to secure a constant and uniform feed. Assuming rotation in proper direction to be imparted to the drive shaft 10 to cause the disk 4 to rotate as v indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, it will be seen that the buckets 5, in the event the tank 1 is full, will dip up a maximum quantity of liquid represented by a prism whose length corresponds to the width of the interior ofthe bucket, whose upper and lower faces correspond respectively to the surface of the liquid in the bucket and to the area of the bottom of the bucket, whose sides each correspond to the area of. the shallow side wall g of the bucket (Fig. l), and whose ends are substantially rectangles the areas of which are the product of the height of the wall g by the width of the bottom of y the bucket, rllhis would be the case with the bucket just emerging from a full tank or the bucket which has reached the position h in Fig. 1. When the bucket reaches the position It some of the liquidA will'have been spilled or poured back into the tank; and when it reaches the position h the bucket begins to discharge into the launder or*l trough 7. By the time however that the bucket reaches the position h", the rectangular cross section of the prism of liquid when at its maximum (at the point` 71,) will be reduced to a prism whose cross-section is substantially a triangle, that is to say only about one-half of the liquid will be in the bucket at the point It as was in the bucket at the point h, the remainder having been discharged back into the .tank between the points it and 7a. Of course as the level of the liquid in the tank lowers with the successive dipping out of the same into the launder 7, the buckets will gradually drives the disk 14 toward the wheel all l dip up less liquid, but in practising my in- A quantity, -said quantity corresponding how- Iever substantially to the prism of'liquid which is discharged into the launder from a bucket at the point It. It follows therefore that irrespective of the height of liquid in the tank 1 between a full tank and the level indicated bym, the buckets will discharge a constant and uniform quantity of liquid into the launder, any excess or surplus which the bucket may contain over and above said amount being spilled or returned into the tank before the bucketbegins to discharge -into the launder. This eXcess of course disappears when the level in the tank reaches a plane indicated by the line ,.when the buckets will pick up substantially the exact quantity to be discharged into the launder. rlhis uniformity of discharge depends of course on the position which the launder 7 occupies relatively tothe buckets, that position being such as to allow the buckets to spill back into the tank the eX- cess above a quantity represented by the minimum scooped up by a bucket or that which a bucket can pick up atthe lowest level'(w). By thus delivering uniform and constant quantities of frothing agent to the launder 7 a uniform feed of the agent may be delivered to the ore pulp which is to receive it, and uniform results may be eX- pected in the flotation machine or concentrator. The speed of the shaft 3 and of the buckets 5 may be changed at any time by shifting the 4friction wheel 17 along the friction disk 14 as above described (Fig. 3).

I may of course depart from the details here shown without in any wise affecting the nature or spirit of the invention. Features shown but not alluded to are well known in the art and require no description in the present connection.

The apparatus of course need not be restricted to the feeding of oil or acid or a frothing agent to flotation concentrators, but may be employed in other arts and industries. Neither is the same to be limited to the feeding of liquids, it being applicable to solids or any fluent material whether liquid or solid.

Having described my invention what I claim is:

In a liquid feeder of the'character described, a suitable tank or container, a rotatable member operating in the tank and partially submerged in the liquid in the tank, a

- series of buckets of equal contents mounted nected by an intermediate section inclined to the termina-l sections and to the plane of rotation of the buckets and of the rotatable member, the buckets being secured to the rotatable member to permit their revolution around the upper and the medial inclined section of the launder, the lower section being farthest removed from the rotatable'member and out of range of the plane of rotation of the buckets, the upper section of the launder being positioned relatively to the buckets to receive the minimum quantity of liquid dipped up by the buckets irrespeetive of the level of the liquid in the container, and to permit a return into the `tank of any excess of liquid over that dis charged into the launder.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT CAMPBELL.

Witnesses:

W. C. WHYTE, WARREN JENNEY. 

